With Cao Cao by my side, what do I have to fear from the world?

Chapter 30, Liu Bei comes to seek refuge with Cao Cao.
Zhong Ji and the others were at a loss for what to do. Xun Yu waved his hand and said, "Everyone, please disperse."

After all the Han officials had left, Xun Yu came to Cao Cao's side and said, "My lord, please get up."

Having knelt on the ground for so long, Cao Cao was exhausted and uncomfortable, his whole body aching.

Since the warlords began their campaign against Dong Zhuo, he has never knelt before anyone again.

Looking around, Cao Cao saw that only his own people remained in the main hall, so he got up, rubbed his knees, and moved them a little.

"Fengxiao, Wenruo, what should we do?"

Cao Cao was quite anxious. He never expected that just as he had tasted the sweetness of commanding the world with the emperor card, the emperor would suddenly abandon him.

Xun Yu frowned, his expression very serious. "My lord, this matter is of utmost importance. We must have neglected His Majesty and restricted his freedom too much. His Majesty is the supreme ruler, yet he cannot even step out of the city gates."

Guo Jia smiled and said, “My lord, your hegemony has only just begun. Besides, His Majesty has no intention of seizing power. I think it would be better to relax the restrictions a bit. He just likes to wander around. There are people guarding Xuchang inside and out. Why do you need to worry?”

"What else has happened today? Surely Your Majesty wouldn't be concerned only with this one matter?" Cao Cao swept his stern gaze over the crowd and asked in a deep voice.

Someone replied, "His Majesty also went to the North Temple, intending to visit Yang Biao, but was stopped. It seems His Majesty and Man Chong even had a few words of argument."

Guo Jia frowned. "So that's where the problem lies. He is the emperor, so naturally he can go wherever he wants. Being blocked by others will naturally make him unhappy."

Cao Cao said with some helplessness, "Man Chong is in charge of the trial of Yang Biao. I instructed him that no one should go to visit him. I did not expect that His Majesty would be interested in going to the North Temple."

Guo Jia said, "Although these are minor matters for you, my lord, they are major matters for His Majesty. Think about it, my lord. His Majesty has no interest in matters of state and military affairs, and he is even prevented from traveling around. Naturally, His Majesty is unwilling to accept this."

"Report!"

Just as Cao Cao was feeling troubled, someone ran up to report, "My lord, Liu Bei has sent an envoy, Jian Yong, to request an audience."

"Liu Bei?"

Cao Cao was taken aback and muttered, "Isn't Liu Bei in Xiaopei?"

Guo Jia, who was in charge of intelligence from various places, replied: "Liu Bei and Lü Bu have been fighting each other for the past few months. Liu Bei first lost Xuzhou, and then sought peace with Lü Bu, taking refuge in Xiaopei. However, I recently heard that Liu Bei has been busy recruiting soldiers in Xiaopei, which has aroused Lü Bu's dissatisfaction. It seems that Lü Bu has taken military action against Liu Bei, and Liu Bei has nowhere to stay and has come to seek refuge with you, my lord."

Cao Cao should have been happy that Liu Bei was coming to join him, but at this crucial moment, the emperor suddenly backed out.

Xun Yu hurriedly reminded him, "His Majesty intends to abdicate, and this matter must not be known to outsiders. My lord, you must show your attitude and ask for His Majesty's understanding. Once Liu Bei finds out about this and it gets out, my lord will be infamous and it will be difficult to clear his name."

It was difficult to clear his name, and even Xun Yu himself felt awkward saying that.

Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "Just say that I caught a cold on my way back to the capital. Send Liu Bei's envoy away first. Fengxiao, you should send someone to find out more about whether Liu Bei is really coming to join us."

Guo Jia nodded hurriedly, "Okay, I'll do it right away."

Xun Yu then asked, "Should we temporarily close the city gates to prevent news of His Majesty's abdication from leaking out?"

Cao Cao nodded. "Shut it down. This kind of thing must not be spread."

Cao Cao rubbed his knees hard again and sighed helplessly, "Although His Majesty was displeased and lost his temper, I have to ask him for help in this matter myself. Alas!"

Another heavy sigh escaped Cao Cao as he dragged his weary steps away from Chengguang Hall and reluctantly went to the North Palace.

After ascertaining Liu Xie's location, Cao Cao went to Liu Xie's palace.

Cao Cao knelt directly in front of the door, a dignified warlord, without any pretense.

Cao Cao shouted loudly through the palace gates, "Your Majesty, if you have any grievances, you may vent them on your court officials. If you do not rescind the edict of abdication, I will kneel here forever."

Liu Xie sat on the bed, nodding to himself. As expected of Cao Cao, he knelt down without hesitation. He really had guts.

Consort Dong walked over from the nearby Junxiu Palace. Seeing Cao Cao kneeling there upright, she felt a surge of joy and couldn't help but secretly wave her fist. Consort Dong didn't dare to get too close, so she kept a distance of more than two meters, bypassed Cao Cao, and entered Liu Xie's bedroom.

"Your Majesty, you are truly amazing! You actually managed to make Cao Cao kneel before you."

She happily approached Liu Xie, then put her arms around his neck and whispered something.

No one had ever taught Consort Dong any etiquette in the palace. She was always straightforward, and Emperor Liu Xie never held it against her.

Liu Xie shook his head and snorted, "What do you know?"

"Your Majesty, why don't you take this opportunity to order Cao Cao to be executed? Then you won't have anything to fear anymore."

Liu Xie rolled his eyes. Now that Cao Cao was to be executed, would Cao Cao be willing to accept it?

Even if Cao Cao were to die, Liu Xie would be sure to be the next one to die!

Those generals of the Cao family would never let him go.

Cao Hong, Cao Ren, Cao Chun, Xiahou Dun, and Xiahou Yuan—which one was easy to deal with?

To put it bluntly, Liu Xie and Cao Cao were engaged in a power struggle.

Cao Cao would never allow Liu Xie to abdicate. If he did, the people of the world would regard Cao Cao as a treacherous usurper.

The term "abdication" sounds nice, but everyone would assume that Cao Cao forced Liu Xie to abdicate.

Liu Xie could not easily back down; he had to make Cao Cao take him seriously and give him as much respect as possible.

Of course, Liu Xie also knew that the abdication involved both benefits and risks.

Because forcing Cao Cao to kneel made him lose face in front of others, Cao Cao was definitely unhappy and would hold a grudge.

If you push Cao Cao too far, and he really gets pushed to the limit, then Liu Xie will be in trouble. So you have to be careful about what you do!
…………

Outside Xudu City!

Liu Bei and his party of several dozen people were resting in a village a few miles outside the city. They were all very dejected, having suffered defeats in two consecutive battles against Lü Bu.

Now they've been forced to the point where they have nowhere to go.

To put it nicely, Liu Bei was a regional warlord; to put it bluntly, he was not much better off than a refugee.

Originally, Xuzhou was ceded to Liu Bei by Tao Qian, but Lü Bu seized it, leaving Liu Bei with no way out.

Jian Yong returned shortly after he left. Liu Bei, who was waiting anxiously at the village entrance, hurried to greet him. "How did it go? What did Cao Cao say?"

Jian Yong shook his head. "Cao Cao didn't let me into the city at all. I heard he caught a cold and it was inconvenient for him to be summoned for the time being."

Liu Bei's face darkened.

He muttered, "Perhaps Cao Cao is still angry with us for helping Tao Qian oppose him before."

Tao Qian's subordinate Zhang Kai killed Cao Cao's father, robbed him, and fled to the mountains, which greatly angered Cao Cao.

Cao Cao wanted to avenge his father and take Xuzhou from Tao Qian. Just when Tao Qian was about to be overwhelmed, Liu Bei suddenly appeared.

Taking advantage of Lü Bu's surprise attack on Cao Cao's rear and Cao Cao's retreat, Liu Bei unexpectedly gained Xuzhou.

After defeating Cao Cao, Liu Bei seized Xuzhou, which Cao Cao coveted, and now he wants to turn around and surrender to Cao Cao.

(End of this chapter)